DANCE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS, THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND WWII

Left to Right: Dancing through the Depression years 1920's, during WWII and COVID-19

In the toughest of times, music, song and dance helped people get through their deepest darkests days. According to many who lived through the Depression, you can't be sad and dance at the same time. Music and dancing made people forget the hardships of daily life and allowed them to forget their troubles by having a good time with friends and family - it gave them hope and the possibility of a better future.

During the Second World War, dancing played a big part as a morale booster. Every town and village had a hall where dancing could take place. The bigger dance halls had orchestras, the smaller ones had a three piece band or records, sometimes only a piano.

The lights, the music and the company let you forget the misery, austerity and danger of the war for a few short hours. The fast and upbeat Jive, Jitterbug and the swing are all different types of dances that came about during the time of World War II and were danced on the war front, home front and basically anywhere that people wanted to feel relief.

Fast forward to 2020 and a world on lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic - another warfront but this time with an invisible enemy. The uncertainty, having to stay home, self isolate and practice social distancing placed an enormous stress on our normally social beings. yet, with the help of technology, dance found a way to get into homes through virtual dance parties and live stream lessons, giving us a way to keep mentally and physically upbeat and most importantly, connected. We look forward to reconnecting socially on the dance floor when things get back to some semblance of normalcy.

Till then, stay safe. Stay healthy.